Bring Me Back
by Z0mbiKitty
Summary: Krieg helps a mysterious Siren named Jay from being attacked by a group of Psychos. She hates who she is and thinks her gift is a curse. Follow them on their journey to Sanctuary, with disturbing pasts that are always one step behind them. (Sort of AU) *I am not affiliated with Borderlands, I only own my OC Jay.* Rated M for violence, sexual themes, etc.
1. Nice To Meat You

A girl sat against the hard, uneven wall of a small cave. It was shallow, brightly lit by the outside light. She was in deep thought, seemingly staring through the rigid rocks at the opposite end.

A noise near the opening pulled her from her mind, her eyes shooting directly outside. Small rocks and residue fell from the top, causing her to get up and creep slowly towards it.

All she was armed with was a dull blade that hung from her belt loop. She hovered a hand over it while she got closer and closer. More rocks fell inches from her face and she quickly stuck her head out while grabbing her knife to try and catch the mystery thing in action.

She looked up in the sky, eyes squinted in question of what it could have been until she saw a figure flying away from the area.

"Just a Rakk," she sighed, watching it fly farther away. She stepped out completely and kept watching it shrink in the sky.

"Another slave to feed me!" the maniacal laugh of a Psycho greeted her from behind. She turned in a defensive stance, "shit.." she whispered to herself as a group of them joined the once lonely Psycho.

* * *

 _Do you even listen to me when I-_ the large man's inner voice stopped in it's tracks as did his body. Off in the distance a group of Psycho's scoped out an area. A sadistic smile formed under his mask as blood lust filled his core. He gripped tight to the buzz axe that accomponied him, the blades already stained with layers of blood. What he didn't expect was a girl to come out of the cave below them, his visible eye widening as he watched her look around in confusion.

 _Are you just going to stand and watch her?_ He shook his head, grunting in aggravation at his trapped sanity.

 _Look behind you, girl. It wasn't the_ _Rakk._ He watched as the Psychos spotted her and began running towards her to try and help.

 _Making decisions on your own now?_ _Don't kill her. You know the deal._

He wouldn't make it in time. They'd get her. Kill her. Then he'd kill them anyway.

She stood with her petty knife raised in front of her, no match for them all, let alone one.

One after the other they hopped down. She backed up slowly, bumping into a large rock, cornering herself.

 _They've got her now..maybe you should run faster._ He grew more angry and began hitting himself repeatedly in the head until he broke the skin. _Hitting yourself will only slow you down more._

"QUIET! Stop talking in my skull meat!" he yelled to his own voice. He watched as they surrounded her now, not scared of her or her butter knife of a weapon. She waved it back and forth, slicing at them. One laughed as his blood trailed down his stomach and pooled in the fibers of his bright orange pants, turning it a dark red. He grabbed hold of the blade, allowing it to cut his hand as he pulled it from her grip. He tossed it to the ground and proceeded to come at her, trying to strangle her. She put her hands up to shield herself and a blue light formed around her hand, covering the Psycho. He combusted before her, flames engulfing him entirely. Less than a second later his body exploded, sending the other Psychos to the ground and blood splattering everywhere.

The blood covered her face and clothes and she stood still, eyes wide as if she did something wrong.

 _What? A Siren? W-why's she just standing there? they're not finished!_ by then he made it, allowing his rage to consume him. "I'm going to wear your spine as a necklace!" he let loose on the rest of them, doing the most horrific things to their bodies. He swiftly turned to face her, eyes red and still in kill mode.

* * *

"Please," she whimpered, stumbling to the ground. She backed herself into the rock again, shaking and unsure of what to do.

A giant Psycho stood before her. He killed his own kind and now she was next- or so she thought.

 _She's scared. Tell her everything is alright now._ "I swallowed the souls of the masked meat bags!" _Close enough..._

She looked at him in confusion, "w-what? Please..don't..hurt-" her head fell back and her body went limp, slumping down as she lost consciousness from the overwhelming fear of not only the beast of a man before her, but the power she unleashed on the Psycho who was about to kill her.

 _Great, I think we came on too strong._ He looked at the fragile girl, like a porcelain doll that fell from the shelf. The floor is no place for a doll. _She is beautiful, huh? Maybe you should pick her up. She'll appreciate that. Just be gentle with this one, will ya? She isn't a corpse._ He looked quizzically at her, not sure where to start. Gentle wasn't in his nature.

He bent to one knee, placing his large hand under her back and the other grabbed under her knees. He lifted up, his fingers sinking into her soft and delicate form. Her chocolate brown hair had vibrant red tips that swayed when he walked. Her combat boots dangled, tapping his leg in rhythm. He looked at her body, noticing a sliver of pale skin where her shirt lifted slightly. Aside from her fingers and face- which were currently covered in blood- it was the only other skin showing.

She wore her clothes tight. A black long sleeved turtle neck that matched the material of her black pants. They looked like a thin leather, or latex. She also had on fingerless gloves and simple necklace that had a random piece of mineral hanging from it.

He had the strange urge to touch the skin. It looked so soft and pure, unlike anything he's used to.

 _Don't do that, it's weird. We have enough problems as it is, let's not add one more,_ the voice joked. He growled, violently shaking his head.

The girl came to in his arms, her vision blurry but quickly sharpening to see a Psycho mask. She flailed her body and screamed, falling to the ground with a heavy thud.

"I won't let you kill me!" she tried to scurry away again. She looked foolish.

 _Let her know we're not going to kill her - she's going to be a tough one to warm up to us._ "I will not crush your bones into protein powder to fuel my lust for the red juice!"

She tried to swallow the lump in her throat and could only blink.

 _Still need to work on that, but I think she got the point. Give her your hand to help her up._ He extended his bloody weapon to her, her eyes locking onto it and appearing to freeze over. _Your hand! Just your hand!_ He put the nightmarish thing on the ground and extended his newly empty hand to her. "My finger prison will straighten your skeleton."

"U-uh.."she didn't know what to make of it, allowing herself to shakily grab his hand. He towered over her, even as she rose to her feet. He lifted her like she was a mere feather, but to no surprise considering the mass on his build. There wasn't a single percentage of fat on his body; His muscles could rip right through his skin. While it intimidated her, it also intrigued her. She wasn't used to seeing men of his stature.

"Th-thank you," she let out, wiping the dirt from herself.

 _I think she's warming up to us._ He made a low rumble and squeezed his temples with the palms of his hands. _Go ahead, mess it up like you do everything. She just started getting used to us and now you're going to scare her again._ He loosened up and scraped his skin as he dragged his fingertips down the sides of his face and neck.

As she watched the man, she grew less and less fearful and more empathetic towards him. If he wanted to kill her, he would have already, and she realized that.

"W-who are you?" she asked, loosening her tense muscles. She knew he was a Psycho. He appeared to be a Psycho- his clothes, his aggressive attitude and that mask. His was different from the rest, though. He was different.

 _Tell her our name._ "Krieg the Destroyer of Flesh!" she swallowed , nodding her head. "I'm..H-" she hesitated momentarily,"Jay. My name is Jay."

"Maiden of the blue power," he added.

"Oh, no. No, no, no- I'm not-" how could she deny that she was a Siren? He knew, he saw. "Yeah, I guess." They stood quietly, Jay clearing her throat. "So..thanks for helping me out. I should go." She touched her face, the blood flaking off of her. She cringed, her stomach turning just from the feel of it.

 _Don't let her leave just like that. She's not safe out here..not that she's any safer with us. But we need her. She can help us. She can care about us._ She noticed how he seemed to get randomly annoyed and grip his head.

"What's your issue?" she asked straight up, "do you have, like, a pounding headache or something?"

 _Or something.._ "Little man speaks too much!"

She looked to the ground, "well sorry to disappoint. I can't help you. My powers were never developed enough..and I don't want them to be.." she was pained by something. "Just pretend you never saw anything. That's what I'm going to do." She walked over to her knife on the ground and picked it up, pushing it back into her belt loop. She looked back at Krieg, and nodded before walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

 **And that's the end of Chapter 1. What did you think? I'm still unsure if I'm going to keep writing because I feel like I butcher Krieg's true personality. Let me know what you thought and if you'd like to read more. Please review? (:**


	2. Skag for Dinner

Something about this girl settled him inside, consumed him with interest and wonder instead of flesh and blood. This was all new to him, at least to his insane self. Still annoying, his inner self was no longer that intrusive voice that tried to remind him of what it was like to be one person, but guided him.

 _Well, you gonna just watch her leave? I know you don't remember what it was like to have..feelings..if that's what you can call this._

He stood there, watching as she sluggishly walked away. Her hips still had a certain sway to them that made him tilt his head. He thought long about what he was telling himself. The only feelings he can remember are pain, torture, bloodlust, kill, kill, kill, and now..he can't put into any psychotic ramble what this is. All he knows is he's watching a pretty girl walk away from him.

"The parade of blood will hold your rotting chambers as they walk through the pain!" he yelled in an attempt to stop her.

She squinted her eyes as she turned her head to look at him. She couldn't begin to puzzle together the meaning of the sentence he spit. "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" she didn't expect a clear answer, or even a slightly decipherable one at that.

He grunted and appeared to be struggling, "where.." he let out an annoyed scream, "does your flesh reside!?" her eyes widened.

 _I have to say, I'm actually surprised by your attempt at talking on your own. You nearly made a sentence that outsiders could understand._

"U-uh, are you asking me where I live?" she hesitated, not sure how or if she should answer to a crazy man she just met...who happened to save her life.

She sighed, "well. I don't live anywhere at the moment, but that's none of your business.." the subject made her skin moisten in a thin, glistening layer of sweat. "Now I-I have to go." She continued walking on her path to who-knows-where. Honestly, she didn't know where she was going or what she could expect from the land ahead of her.

He watched again as she turned her back to him. He saw her stop then stumble to her knees as she took deep breaths. He walked to her, grabbing at her arms lightly and lifting her to her feet. "I'm fine!" she pulled away, almost falling again, regaining her balance by grabbing his solid arm.

She wasn't sure what made her more dizzy: being dehydrated from walking through the hot and barren desert-like lands of Pandora, or Krieg's swiftness to come to her aid.

She wiped at the dried blood on her face and collapsed into him.

 _She's worn out. Who knows how long she's been out here without food or water. We need to help her or she could die._

"No, no, no, no, I will rip the lungs out and jump rope with the intestines of her destroyer," he babbled to himself in a low growl. He picked her up in the same manner as before, only this time with the intent of bringing her to get water and food.

She faded in and out, waking to Krieg and smiling as she fell into darkness again, only to cry out from nightmares that plagued her unconscious mind.

* * *

Jay's mind woke seconds before her body, immediately taking in the horrific scent. Her eyes shot open and she dry heaved towards the ground next to her, her abdomen tightening uncomfortably. She spit on the ground with the remaining saliva in her mouth and moaned. She looked around and noticed the butchered corpse of a large Skag sprawled frighteningly close to her.

"What the-" she turned back to dry heave again, this time covering her mouth and nose with her arm as she scoped out the area. Krieg was nearby, hands covered in blood and putting what looked like raw meat in his mouth. She watched in disgust as he basically sucked it off the bone. His mask was lifted just enough to expose his mouth. Her eyes widened as he pushed it back over his mouth then proceeded to use his buzz axe to cut into the leftover Skag meat and offer it to her.

She shook her head under her arm, "no, no way," her muffled voice assured.

 _Ladies like when a man can cook. She doesn't want raw Skag.._ .. his inner voice sounded as though he was face palming himself.

Jay wobbled to stand, noticing that Krieg had brought her to a small pond. She collapsed at the edge, dunking her face in it and scrubbing her palms to her cheeks and forehead to clean all the blood off. She then pooled it in her hands to drink, slurping it up like she'd never see water again.

His eye watched her bent over form, the plump definition of her ass through the skin-tight material of her pants making him wonder. He felt a primal instinct, but had no idea how to go about the new feeling.

 _That's an obstacle to tackle another day._ He was pulled from his gaze, the familiar rage coming back to him. He dug his thumb deep into his eye socket, mumbling something about meat.

"Hey, don't do that," a soft voice hovered over him. A small hand gently grabbed at his arm to pull it away from his face. His bloodshot eye looked up and widened. Jay stood before him, her porcelain face cleaned of all blood spatter. He now noticed how truly beautiful she was. She had soft yet defined features, her cheeks slightly pink and her lips just the right size. And those eyes, a piercing silver, like two bullets bouncing around in his cranium. Her wet hair draped the sides of her face, curling slightly, droplets of water falling to her shoulders.

Her already pale face grew even more pale as she suddenly crouched to the ground and gagged. She held her stomach and took deep breaths. "That..Skag...is fucking..disgus..ting."

He picked up the corpse and tossed it a distance away from them. She quickly stumbled to her feet, "what the fuck!?" she covered her ears as he threw a grenade towards the body. It landed next to it, exploding and sending it flying. The result was a massive dent in the ground and a flaming Skag corpse.

"And what exactly did you get out of that!?" she yelled loudly since her ears now rang from the loud explosion. He ignored her and walked over to the body, not caring that it was on fire. He cut a chunk of the charred meat and walked it over to her.

"Burning flesh for your teeth," he offered it to her to which she hesitantly took from him. She swallowed hard, looking at the dark meat in her hand. She covered her stomach as it made a low rumble and she groaned, knowing she can either suck it up and eat, or starve to death. It's not like she's never eaten Skag before- everyone has- but never straight from the source.

She inched it closer to her mouth, allowing her senses to take it in first. She placed the edge of it in her mouth and bit down, removing the hard, burnt surface to reveal softer, more enjoyable meat underneath.

"It's not-" she chewed the bit in her mouth then swallowed, "it's not that bad, actually." She scarfed the remainder down, immediately feeling her energy restore itself.

 _Not how I would have done it, but you got the job done. The girl's happy because of you. Never thought I'd ever be saying that,_ the voice laughed. Krieg shook his head violently, rattling his brain.

"K-Krieg?" Jay approached with caution. He breathed deeply with a faint growl. "Thank you. Again." she looked deeper into the man, past his mask, past his bloodied weapon. She knew under all this craziness that he was trying.

* * *

 **To be continued...maybe? What did you think? Please let me know in a review if you liked this. Would you want to read more?**


	3. Fear in the Flesh

She stared at the man, a silence had formed between both of them. She looked at his visable eye, focusing on her own thoughts. She asked many questions about him to herself. Just who was he? Or _what_ was he? The more she fell into thought, the more questions she had.

She shook her head from oblivion, moving her gaze to the ground. "I should really be on my way now." Something seemed to be bothering her.

"W-Where?!" Krieg struggled to avoid saying more than that. Even though she has known him for only a small amount of time, Jay saw that he had many inner battles. That's not to say she understood it, though.

She furrowed her brows and shook her head, "I don't know.."

 _Does she not realize how unsafe she is out here? Even as a Siren, she can't defend herself without the use of her power. She doesn't even have a weapon. She needs us as much as we need her right now._ "A tomb to lay your skin!" he growled, "Sanct..uary!"

"You know how to get to Sanctuary?" she asked, the name peaking her interest. She's heard about the place before, but had no idea where to find it. It wasn't exactly easy getting directions around here. In fact, it was near impossible with a monster at every corner. She was lucky to have gotten this far already.

He had a faint memory of the place. His inner voice always steered him away from anywhere that he could end up killing innocent people. He was too unpredictable to risk it. But..she could be the difference.

 _I'm trusting you this time. But you even touch a strand of hair on anyones head, and I'll end our life quicker than you can say "meat bicycle." Got it?_ He gritted his teeth, tensing his muscles and balling his fists. Jay wasn't sure what to think of the action, getting a little nervous. She swallowed hard, "I-I'm sorry. I just- That's where I'd like to go. If you could point to where it is, o-or," she wasn't sure how to ask, considering his lack of social skill. It wasn't the understanding- he understood most things- but getting his real thoughts out in a non-violent manner was the issue.

 _You getting mad at me only puts you in a bad position, when are you gonna learn that? Now pull yourself together and let's take her to Sanctuary._ He let out a low growl and cracked his neck, his veins protruding as he did, and in an instant you could see his eye soften along with his body.

"I'll lead the maiden!" he swung his buzz axe wildly, making her instinctively back away.

"No," she shook her head, "I'll go alone. I have to." She swallowed, avoiding eye contact. "I'm not...safe." She closed her eyes for an extended period of time, remembering things she wish she could just toss in the garbage like anything else.

A rare moment happened with Krieg's mind and body where his inner voice and physical control worked together in sync to let out a laugh. The laugh that came out would make anyone feel foolish and weak; if only she could hear the laugh inside his head, as it was more comical and friendly.

Jay stood, taking it in. Like he would know anyway. He was just a psycho, what does he know at all?

But the laughing outside had stopped and Krieg tilted his head, looking at the girl in a different way now. _Has she met you yet? And she thinks she's the one who isn't safe to be around.._ inside he was still laughing like he hadn't caught up to how he was really feeling yet.

He was the big killing machine with an appetite for a 3-course meal of flesh, bone and organs paired with a warm glass of blood to wash it all down. He'd torn out the spines of every species on Pandora and has a mental collection of how each sounds during their last breath that he remembers like a song stuck in his head. Yet here is this girl before him, one he could crush with just his fingers, who sees herself as a bigger threat than him. He wasn't sure how to take in the feeling he had from this realization, never once meeting someone on this journey who didn't fall to the ground and beg for their life even if he had a moment of control and didn't come at them.

 _Wow. This is real, isn't it? You like this girl._

"You have no idea who I am, or what I've done and what I've gone through because of it!" she felt offended by him, the memories finally finding the small slit in her vulnerable mind that they needed to flood in. Between the heat of the sun beating down on her, the smell of Skag, and already feeling bad, she began to crack. Tears formed at her waterline, waiting to overflow from her eyes. She held them back, the silver color starting to pop as her sclera reddened by the second.

He stood in confusion at her reaction. He's never witnessed tears from someone unless he was about to peel their skin from their muscle. _This is called 'being upset'. Remember back when we were sane?_ It was still foreign to him ...I _figured you wouldn't.._

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember 98% of life before his mind split. It was rather confusing because half of him has memories that the other half cannot access, which makes things really difficult.

"You probably don't even know what I'm saying.." she regained herself, her eyes drying up and her mind pushing everything to the back. "Can you please just point me in the direction to Sanctuary? Please?" she had a stern voice now.

She was quickly startled by the sound of Rakks that flew overhead in circles. They were high up and didn't look like they were coming down soon.

Krieg started walking, passing her by and then turning to look back at her, "Sanctuary." He continued to walk, causing Jay to sigh. She jogged to catch up to him. "Alone!" she stopped. He turned again, raising his buzz axe and quickly swinging it in a downward motion just inches from her head. She screamed and sheilded herself with her arms, a blue glow coming from underneath her clothes.

The sound of puncturing flesh filled her ears from behind her and then a thud on the ground. When she uncovered herself, before she had time to process, another Rakk came swooping behind him. He knew it was coming, but tested Jay.

Her eyes widened in shock. She tried to warn him, pointing towards it. When he didn't bother to look she panicked, "behind you!" it combusted just before it could reach him, another episode of blood splattering everywhere.

She looked at her hand in fear, the visible blue glow on her fingertip fading. Her body began to shake and her skin grew pale again. She collapsed onto the ground and finally let the tears fall. "I'm a m-monster!" she managed through sobs. He couldn't understand why she felt the way she did. She was a Siren. A powerful being.

She was supposed to embrace the power, not fear it.

* * *

 **To be continued! Jay is overly emotional and Krieg doesn't know what to make of it. Maybe she will reveal why in the next chapter.**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed, followed and added this story to their favorites. I'm glad you like it since I was sure that I was going to make Krieg too out of character. I think I'm doing alright. Please leave a review! I'll post a new chapter faster if I have some added motivation from you all!**


	4. Maiden of Blue

Krieg approached Jay, bending slightly, making her move away. "Stay away from me!" she yelled as he grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. He kept a tight grasp and looked at it. Her heart raced in her chest while struggling to get free. He scanned it from shoulder to fingertip where he noticed the blue tattoo peeking out from under the cut-off finger of her glove. What pulled his curiosity was the red, burnt looking skin that the tattoo seemed to glow through.

She yanked her arm from him, gritting her teeth. "There's this thing called 'personal space'! I don't know if you understand that concept, but it's where you keep a certain distance away from someone instead of grabbing all over like you own them!" she sniffled and wiped the wetness from her eyes.

She moved towards him, "here, let me show you!" she stood on the balls of her feet and reached up to grab at his mask. Just as she was about to flip it off of his face, he pushed it back into place and knocked her back just hard enough that she wasn't as close to him.

She rubbed the area of her arm that he had his hand around as the skin started to feel sore from the pressure. "See? Not so pleasant, now is it?" she sighed, turning her back to him.

 _I'm just as curious as you, give her time. But I see you're not too fond of her holding her own against you, hm?_ "shut up!" he took his own fist to his skull.

Jay turned, not sure what he was up to this time. She watched as he beat on himself until blood dripped from his skin. In a way she felt bad.

"It hurts!" he yelled, but would laugh like he enjoyed it.

"Didn't I tell you to stop that earlier?" she said softly, the adrenaline inside of her losing it's effect. She swallowed hard, shakily reaching out to touch his arm.

The feeling of her gentle hand on him grabbed him from his inner conflict. He breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling as he looked at her hand. She swallowed, retracting her arm quickly and shaking her head.

"My meat is unused to the sensation of your silky skeleton coat!" for the first time in a while she cracked a small smile. She never thought you could use morbid vocabulary in the way that he just did.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it." she looked at him, actually taking him in visually for the first time. Her eyes traveled from the large width of his shoulders, following the deep contours of his abdominals to his prominent, and very noticable, v-lines. Her stomach formed a knot when she reached the belt of his pants. She didn't realize she was biting her lip until she let out a breath.

 _You might have a chance. Look, she's checking us out._

"Shit.."she whispered to herself. Her cheeks became flush as she made eye contact with him.

"Your face is pooling with blood," he pointed out, making her feel even more anxious.

"S-so, if you would like to accompany me to Sanctuary, I'm fine with that," she blurted out, changing the subject in hopes that he would move on too. Her change of mind made her seem bi-polar, but she had a new feeling inside. It wouldn't hurt to have him around. She might be out here for days and end up dead without help.

"But my one rule is that you don't touch me, and I won't touch you," she nodded to his mask while holding her arm.

* * *

The two walked non-stop for a couple of hours. Krieg blurted out his psycho rambles most of the time and Jay would try to decode it to occupy her own mind. A lot of it was questionable, but sometimes she would understand what he was saying and it was rather sad underneath it all.

They came across a camp and she saw a side of Krieg that she hasn't fully seen, and that was his excitement to kill.

"I don't think we should go this way," Jay had a bad feeling as they inched closer and closer.

 _He's not going to listen now. It's too late._ "I'll suck the meat from their bones while they watch.." he mumbled in a low tone, laughing maniacally and shaking out his muscles as he readied his buzz axe for a bloodfest.

 _Coming this way was a bad idea. You're putting her in danger and you know it._ His sanity always tried to get him to overcome the desperate urges to kill. Each time he failed.

The thing is, the danger isn't what they're walking into, it's him. Yeah, he likes Jay in ways he's never felt before, but will it matter when he's in a rage?

She watched in horror as he entered the camp, slaughtering everyone and everything in his path. Gunshots filled the air, making her look in any direction. She stood stupidly in plain sight where she was an open target for anything. A Marauder high up on a deck noticed her, aiming right at her as she stood oblivious to his action. He pulled the trigger, hitting her in the leg. She fell to the ground and yelped in pain, gaining the attention of Krieg. She cried out and held onto her increasingly bloody thigh.

She tried her best to drag herself behind a large barricade that was just a few feet away. She got behind it, cursing to herself in pain and wondering why she stood there like an idiot. When she looked around the edge, she saw Krieg coming towards her. He was so focused on getting to her that he became sloppy, passing near an explosive barrel that a Marauder took advantage of. They shot the barrel, setting it off in a huge explosion that sent Krieg to the ground.

"No. No, no," she panicked when he didn't get up. If they were going to make it out alive, then she needed to act fast.

 _I can't do this,_ she told herself. "Krieg?!" she called out. Nothing. Gunshots whizzed by her, making her realize that she was now their focus. _He's going to die if I don't do something.._

She took a deep breath and came out from the safety of the barricade, putting her pain to the back of her mind. She had trouble kickstarting her power. _Come on!_ She looked at his body on the ground and it became easy for her to focus. Her tattoos glowed a bright blue.

Every barrel exploded around her, killing any enemy close to them. The ones left standing slowly started to scream, dropping their weapons while they were burning from the inside out. Blood popped from every hole in their body, followed by smoke. They dropped like flies, one by one until no one was left.

Although it was over, she still found herself starting fires around her.

"Stop.." she told herself, closing her eyes. When it didn't work she grew angry. "Stop!" she yelled, the flames around her died in a quick gust and she dropped to her knees. She felt like every ounce of energy was taken from her.

"Krieg?" she managed to crawl to him. "Krieg," she shook him for a moment before his eye shot open and he grabbed hold of her neck.

"The pain! It's pulsating through my veins.. and I love it!" he was blinded by his rage, and she could feel herself slipping from reality. "K-" she squeeled from the pain, "K-Kri!" his hand let go and she tumbled over, gasping for air.

* * *

 **Thanks for the follows, faves and reviews. In reply to a review, I have read some fics where Krieg just was not Krieg at all, even with the psycho babble and inner intellect involved. I guess that's where my fear of messing his character up stemmed from.**

 **Other than that, hope any readers enjoyed and don't forget to leave a review!**


	5. Aftermath

Jay went into a coughing fit while trying to gain her breath back.

 _You might as well off yourself now. You'll never be anything more than a killing machine._ Krieg was still recovering from his knockout, which made him go out of control momentarily.

He sat up and looked at Jay as she struggled to get enough air between coughing and the pain around her neck. Inside he knew he did something, but he wasn't able to react the way he knew he should. The words his inner voice said had an affect on him, though. Would he be nothing more than a psycho for the rest of his miserable life? The way he felt, what he did; it all seemed too far out of his control.

"Crushing your airway has made me regretful," he said in a seemingly normal tone.

Jay barely heard what he said, still focused on breathing. She rubbed her skin under the neck of her shirt, eyes closed and making a hissing sound with every pass over the sensitive skin. When she swallowed, it felt like her saliva was pushing back against the walls of her throat, adding to the pain she already had. As if it wasn't enough to be shot in the leg.

Krieg stood up, stretching his muscles. Before anything else, he walked over to her.

"Just..stay away from me for now," she held her hand up, motioning for him to not come any closer. He stopped and just looked at her for a second before searching nearby for his buzz axe.

 _Your're lucky she isn't tearing you a new one._ As always, this made him angry and annoyed, sending him into a fit.

Jay rolled her eyes, hearing him yell at himself. Something about how the whole thing played out was tugging a nerve, but what did she expect from him? He wasn't going to run to her and apologize. If he could do that then this most likely wouldn't have happened in the first place. Although, she couldn't deny that he protected her more times than he did hurt her. _He can't help it, h_ _e's messed up..it was an accident. You should know.._ she thought to herself.

She sat slouched over, waiting for the pain to pass on her neck, observing the bullet hole in her leg. The sky slowly grew darker, meaning they'd have little light to travel in. She scanned the now empty camp for the area with the least amount of bodies. In the process she saw Krieg's buzz axe hidden under the debris from the explosion.

"Hey-" she went to call for him, but he wasn't in sight. She furrowed her brows and stood up as best as she could. She looked in every direction. "What the hell?" he wasn't anywhere.

She looked at his weapon, not sure if she should even touch the thing, but didn't want to leave it. She limped over to it and pushed off the charred wood that covered it. She grabbed the grip of the buzz axe and was surprised by the size and weight of it. Her eyes widened when the sharp metal blade swayed towards her face. It felt foreign in her hands, like it wasn't meant for her. She had to admit, it was intimidating to hold.

"No wonder his biceps are huge," she simulated a curl. She waved it around, trying to imagine how Krieg used it.

"Oh yeah?" she said to no one as she lunged it forward and swung the weapon in a slicing motion, pretending to fight an enemy. She turned to swing again, "oh shi-" she dropped it to the ground. She began to feel flustered and her cheeks burned bright red.

"I-I found it," was all she could say. She mentally kicked herself over and over again. "You weren't anywhere to be found." She wasn't sure how to go about the whole thing. She felt stupid for what he probably saw, but at the same time she wondered if he _could_ even care about it. Little did she know, he _did_ take pleasure in watching her, but the term to express it wasn't familiar.

She bent at the waist and picked it up, handing it to him. He grabbed hold of it, his hand brushing against her own which sent a tingle down her spine. She smirked, keeping hold of it. "If you do that again, I'm going to torch you from the inside out." She let go and barely walked away, searching the area. She hated seeing all the bodies in her path. The blood on the ground, the smoke coming from their skin like meat fresh from the oven. That was her doing.

 _I guess she's fine._ Krieg followed behind her, keeping a smart distance away.

Jay had a conversation with herself in her mind, much like Krieg does. But unlike him, she's whole. More whole than him anyway. She threatened him with the power she barely knew and hated that she did so. The power that got her into this mess in the first place. It would always come back to her. The fear, the guilt.

She walked into a shack, holding back the sting in her eyes. The room was dimly lit by a single bulb that hung from the ceiling. There was a table with a beat up pizza box with a slice left in it. She moved the box to look at the cover; A picture of a partially exposed woman with harlequin makeup. "Moxxi," she read lowly to herself. "Hm." Her stomach rumbled at the sight of the melted cheese that adorned the triangular slice of dough.

She refocused her mind to the rest of the room, spotting a worn out makeshift matress with a blanket that would serve more properly as a table cover than anything else as it appeared to be thin and small in length compared to most people.

She walked back out to speak to Krieg, who was smacking himself in the head.

"I think we can rest in here for part of the night," she mentioned, considering the fact that Pandora had very long days and nights. "You do _rest_ , right?" she questioned, really not sure of his lifestyle. For all she knew, he didn't need sleep. Was he even human?

 _We're not a damned vampire, of course we sleep.._ "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep! If someone tries to kill me before I wake, they better pray I don't sever their fucking heads! Ha ha ha!" _Close enough.._

"Oh-" she blinked, not sure what to make of that. "Well, there's a poor excuse for a bed in there," she pointed inside the shack. "I don't know what your thing is, but you can have first dibs. I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep just yet. If not.." she shrugged and shook her head. "You don't mind taking a break, do you? I need to patch myself up. I'm no good like this." she nodded to her leg which slowly grew more painful by the minute.

"Little man can't turn off." _Hey, that's not true. You get sleep here and there._

"Yeah, I hear you.." she sat down in a dirty lawn chair that was a few feet away.

 _You don't know the half of it and you don't want to._

* * *

 **Thank you for the lovely review, Gothalla123! I really hope you continue to enjoy!**

 **As always, let me know if you like, and stay tuned for the next chapter. :)**

 **Also, if anyone is interested, I painted a really awesome Krieg mug which I posted to my DeviantART account. You can find my name in my bio on here.**


	6. It's Not Just A Dream,

Krieg did his thing, scoping the entire vicinity, mumbling and growling to himself while Jay sat staring at her leg wound. She swallowed and squeezed her lips together as she stuck a finger in the stained hole of her pants to get a feel of what she was working with.

"Damn," she sighed, knowing she couldn't do anything about it while her pants were still on. They were too tight to stretch enough around the wound for her to work.

She looked to see where Krieg was, spotting him off in the distance. He looked occupied enough for her to do what she had to without him interrupting.

She stood up and limped into the shack. she closed the door and quickly grabbed the chair that was next to the table, placing it in front of the door to keep it secure. The wood of the chair was old, as was everything here, but in her head it was enough to make her comfortable.

She tossed her boots off and pulled the waist of her pants, sliding them down over her curved features. She hesitated before slipping her good leg out of them, revealing one of her hidden secrets.

She looked at a large red scar that traveled from her foot, up her entire leg and seemed to continue under her shirt. The raised, pale skin was translucent, allowing a muddy blue pattern to be seen through it.

Images of a man flashed in her head. Her breathing began to deepen and her heartbeat quickened. She shook herself back to reality and continued to take her other leg out of the pants, wincing with the pressure.

She was nearly half naked now, her bottom half covered by black lace panties, which really didn't do much covering at all.

The makeshift was the only available soft seat. She sat down on it, stretching her leg off the edge.

"This is going to hurt," she told herself while looking at the gaping, bloody hole. Her arm was shaking as her hand neared. She attempted to stick her finger in the wound to try and pry the bullet out, only to whimper from the intense stinging pain and pull away to bang her fist on the matress. There was no way she was doing this on her own.

She put her bloody hand on her face, sighing in defeat.

There was barely any time to react when the chair holding the door closed was pushed to pieces as it crashed open. Krieg busted in, only he didn't mean to _bust_ in, that's just how it seemed. The structure was nothing against his normal strength and he didn't even realize there was anything in the way of the door.

Jay grabbed the blanket, quickly covering her bare legs. "What is your problem!?" she grew defensive, not because of her partially clothed state but because of her scar. She did all she could to hide it from not only people she encounters, but herself too.

"Have you no manners?!" she was so fixated on the fact that he almost saw her biggest flaw that she rambled questions that she knew the answers to. His reaction was to virtually ignore her as he hoisted his buzzaxe over his shoulder and surveyed his surroundings.

"Can you _please_ get out?" she asked, hoping he would listen.

 _Alright, buddy, let's just give her spa- what are you doing?_ He walked over to her, pulling the blanket from her wounded leg. "Hey!" she tried to cover herself but he grabbed hold of her ankle and dragged her towards him. "Let go of me!" she struggled, flailing her legs.

He put his weapon down and used his other hand to grasp her thigh, keeping her leg straight. He leaned closer to her leg to get a look at the wound. She stopped struggling as she realized what it was that he was doing, however the close proximity of his head and his large hand gripped tightly around the top of her thigh made her stomach tingle.

"You know, you shouldn't touch a lady unless she allows you to," she swallowed. He removed his grip as she released the tension in her muscles. He gently caressed the skin around the wound, making her breath quiver.

"You wear infected flesh," he tried to conceal the psychotic tic, squeezing her ankle tightly and gritting his teeth under his mask. "Must. Ex. Tract"

She reached out to touch his shoulder, "you don't need to try so hard. Just..be yourself."

 _If only she knew._ He settled, letting go of her and standing. She used the oppurtunity to cover herself.

"I can't take it out, it hurts too much. We'll just have to leave it in until we get to Sanctuary."

"Pain is forever!" he flipped, grabbing hold of his head and laughing.

"Only if you allow it.."she whispered to herself, looking at the shape of her legs under the blanket. She was startled by Krieg, who picked up his buzzaxe, the sharp blades carving lines into the wooden floor as it dragged momentarily against the grain. He left without spitting any sort of weird sentence.

Jay ripped the blanket from herself, getting up and pulling her pants back on. She cried out as the fabric passed over her wound once again. The chronic pulsation of pain had made her forehead form a thin layer of sweat that glistened in the dull light of the shack. She wiped it away with a shaky hand, only to produce more. She was beginning to look like hell.

Krieg returned with what seemed like nothing at all.

 _I don't like where you're going with this. She definitely won't like where you're going with this._ "shut up!" he growled as he entered.

"Where did you go?" she was breathing deeper. Her clammy skin grew pale and dark circles draped the bottom of her eyes.

He pulled a long and thin sharp object from his pocket. It was a dirty, off-white shade and looked strangely familiar.

"What is that?" she sat herself back down, growing lethargic but not realizing yet.

"I must destroy the infection that runs through your bloody veins! Ha ha!" this scared her.

"Uh, what?" she swallowed, standing up to try and get away from him but ended up wobbling forward into his grip. She had little strength, as if it would matter if she had all of it. He was too strong.

"I said I'm waiting until we get to Sanctuary, now let go of me for the last fucking time!"

"Death will follow you like a starving Skag stalking his prey," he looked into her eyes and could see her fear, smell it even. _Told you. Now you're just scaring her. She doesn't know the severity of her bullet hole._ "shut up..."

"I- I didn't say anything," she swallowed, trying to calm down.

"Slagged.. Corrosive bullet..pierced your porcelain flesh," his neck and shoulders spasmed.

She shook her head, "can't take it out." The thought scared her. The pain scared her. The entire situation scared her. She wanted to avoid it as long as possible.

This angered Krieg. He didn't want to see her in more pain and she just wasn't getting through her head that leaving the bullet in would only make things worse.

He dropped his buzzaxe and pushed her onto the bed, grabbing her leg. He tore the leg of her pants open as she yelled profanities at him and kicked his arms. He let her go through with the struggle, just waiting until she tires herself out.

"You fucker! Let me go!" she grabbed his arm, flailing back when her heated hand sizzled over his skin. This made him more mad. He squeezed at her throat, "I'm trying to help you!"

Memories flooded in, she no longer saw Krieg, but another man. His eyes were dark and he came at her with the intent of hurting her. Tears fell from her eyes and she gave up the fight. _Let her go!_ Krieg's eye was bloodshot, he breathed heavily with his grasp loosening around her neck.

"I'm sorry!" she cried, "I didn't mean it.." her eyes were closed and her body was trembling. "I deserve this," she whined in a high pitch. She sniffled a few times before going unconscious.

He watched her, feeling something inside himself that he couldn't understand yet again. A pain, a yearning to help her.

A need to save her from her own pains.

* * *

 **I apologize for not posting for such a long time. I've been pretty busy. But don't worry, I'm not giving up this story. I like it too much and I hope you all do too.**

 **Please let me know if you're enjoying this! It motivates me so much!**

 **And thank you to all who have followed/favorited! You all rock!**


	7. It's A Nightmare

Krieg touched his arm where Jay burned him. He had a dirty, bloody bandage wrapped around his hand and forearm that protected most of his skin from coming into contact with her heat. There was a small red mark, a second degree burn. It didn't pain him, nor did he even really feel it when it happened.

He moved his attention back to her unconscious body. He touched her leg, feeling the inflammation of the bright red skin around the center wound. He noticed his touch didn't wake her, or ever stir her.

 _I know what you're thinking, but is it really a good idea after what happened?_ he punched himself in the temple, growling at his inner voice. He ignored it from there, retrieving that sharp object. It had fallen to the floor during their brawl.

He sat himself on the ground, his torso hovering a perfect distance over her. He gently stuck the tip into her wound, stopping when it hit the bullet. He carefully dug it into the tight slit where the muscle hugged the bullet, strategically scooping it out. He reverted his eyes to her face, still unmoved. He wasn't sure if it were good or bad.

When he scooped it halfway up, he was able to grab it with his fingers. Dislodging it made blood start pooling. He examined the piece, and looked back in the hole. Given the poor lighting, he was still able to see a few tiny fragments that broke off inside before the blood covered it. He already knew what he was dealing with. He's pulled enough bullets out of himself to know what he was looking at. Or did he?

He's been shot with every elemental weapon you can think of, but never once were they combined. It was clear that it was a Hyperion-made bullet. He scowled at the thought of Hyperion.

He looked at it, spinning it in his large fingers. He noticed eroded chambers within the metal. He made an educated guess that one side had slag, while the other had corrosive acid; Pulling the trigger would initiate the reaction. Heat produced from the gun powder would begin to open up the chambers, one metal type melting quicker than the other to assure a timed double damage once it hits its target. It didn't make a serious wound, the acid eating away only a certain range. Of course the trick was to cause damage even after you've made it out alive. If you didn't die then you wouldn't get very far after infection kicks in.

Krieg meticulously scooped the shrapnel, getting a reaction from her as he had to dig deeper into her.

"Ow, mmm," she whined a little. Her body shifted, causing her to wake. Her torso flung up, and she immediately grabbed at her leg, moaning loudly in pain. Her eyes remained closed so he stopped trying to get the last piece until her body settled. He needed to work fast because she was losing a lot of blood. There was a good chance a main artery was hit, and if that was true, then they may have a new problem.

She laid, falling back into an unconscious state. Krieg worked quick to get the last piece out. He had nothing to stitch her with, allowing blood to escape fast. He growled in frustration, trying to come up with something.

 _No, that's probably the worst idea you've had today!_ He pushed her wound closed as best as he could and took the sharp instrument he used to get the bullet out, stabbing it through her flesh. Her eyes shot open, bright red. She screamed in pain causing the room to burst into flames. The intensity made her black out, leaving the shack to burn with the two inside.

Krieg unwrapped the bandage from his arm, using it to wrap her leg and tie the object in place, keeping her wound closed.

Dark smoke filled the room, the temperature rising by the second. He lifted her up bridal style, grabbing his buzzaxe and carried her out of the burning shack. He got far enough away, watching as the camp crumbled.

 _Jay sat on the floor of her bedroom. She had five candles lined up in front of her. She was staring at the first one, concentrating on the wick. She smiled wide when it ignited._

 _She lit them one after the other, until she got to the last one. She grew annoyed, trying extra hard to focus. She shut her eyes, imagining the candle wick bursting into flames. She opened her eyes. Nothing. She failed._

 _"Come on," she told herself. She tried once again to light it, putting everything she had into it. Again, she had failed to light it. She snarled, hitting the ground in aggravation. The candle burst into flames as she imagined, and so did other objects in around her._

 _"No," she panicked, standing up and trying to calm down. Her body was shaking and power unstable, making the flames mimic her. They spread quick, weakening her ability to gain control._

Jay whimpered in his arms, crying out unconsciously.

 _She ran out of her room, screaming for her mother who was asleep in the room next to hers._

 _She touched the knob of her door, pulling back and hissing from the heat. She went at it again, turning with haste. She pushed the door open to see her mom trapped by the flames. "Mom!" she yelled, not sure how to help her._

 _"Get out! Go outside!" her mother yelled back, wanting safety for her daughter. Jay watched in shock as thick smoke clouded the ceiling, soon filling the house._

 _She closed her eyes, envisioning control over the fire. She was able to slow her heartbeat and focus._

 _"We got you, everything's gonna be alright!" a man grabbed her, pulling her towards the exit._

 _"No! Get off!" she struggled, "mom! Mom!" she tried to get out of the man's grip._

 _"You need to get out, this house is going down!" the man tried to contain her but she pushed him off to run back._

 _The room was barely recognizable. Heat, fire and smoke occupied the space. Charred wood fell from the walls._

 _She broke down, falling to the floor. The man came back, scooping her up and carrying her outside. He placed her a safe distance away on the ground. She coughed and cried, holding herself._

* * *

 **To be continued. Hope you enjoyed the little glimpse into Jay's past. Thanks for reading and please leave a review! :)**


	8. Doctor's In

Jay laid in a partial wake state, eyes closed and breath slow. She opened her eyes, immediately squinting from the light. She lifted her torso, looking around the room while nerves flooded her body. Where the hell was she?

"Relax," a man said. He had a medical mask on and a bloody apron. Not the best image to wake up to, assuming she is awake and not in some horrid nightmare.

She flailed her legs closer to herself as he approached. "I'm not going to steal your organs," he chuckled, taking the thoughts right from her. "I already had that chance when the big guy brought you in."

"W-who are you? Where am I? W-where's Krieg?" she began frantically questioning the guy.

"Zed, doctor Zed. You are in Sanctuary. I couldn't-"

"Sanctuary?" she couldn't believe her ears.

"That's right. Krieg? I suppose he's the one who brought you here. The one you're looking for. Real big guy, not much sense to make of'm." Zed fiddled with a few sketchy looking tools on a medical stand. "Yeah, I'm sure he isn't far. I could barely get him to leave your side, something about a fire, uh, I'm not entirely sure what he was trying to get at."

Jay furrowed her brows and averted her attention to the floor. _Fire?_ she looked at the small part of her tattoo that was visible on her finger. She couldn't stand the sight of it, but knew something happened. "I have to go."

"Leaving so soon?" Zed asked casually. She grunted as her leg fell limp over the edge. She noticed it was neatly wrapped in a white cloth bandage. "I-I can't feel my leg.."

"Don't worry, I numbed you up a bit. Should get feeling back within a few hours," he said, watching as she continued to get up. She hobbled to her feet, doing the best she could to walk.

"You're not gonna try and stop me, are you?" she questioned, although he didn't look like he was in any rush to do so.

"No, but I must ask if you'll do me a favor for my work. Just a small one."

"Uh, oh, yes, Absolutely," she agreed. He initially scared her, but he seemed harmless for now. Plus, she was feeling better compared to before.

He went into a cubby and pulled out a small package. "There's a small bar just around the corner, you can't miss it. Bright lights, loud music and the beautiful owner Moxxi. Just give that to her and we're even," he walked the package over to her.

As she took it, she couldn't help but wonder what could be inside, but didn't ask. The name Moxxi had a familiar ring to it, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. "No problem. And thank you for everything."

"They don't call me doctor for nothin'." He let out a laugh that would make any patient anxious. Like, was he even licensed? She smirked anyway, limping through the door. The first thing on her mind was Krieg.

It was light out, even brighter than inside. She put a hand over her eyes until they adjusted. _Time really must have gone by...it's light out already._ She thought, considering how long Pandora's days and nights were.

She looked around, not seeing him anywhere. Fortunately, everyone was still alive. She didn't know his exact level of control, but by the looks of things, it seems like he didn't start anything.

She struggled her way around, looking down the small alleyways. The place wasn't big at all yet he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he just left her. Like he'd know the difference.

Jay found herself in front of a building with faint music coming from it. Looking up, you couldn't miss the neon sign even if you tried. "Moxxi's," she read to herself, taking note of the extra 'X' and woman's leg that would blink to make it appear to be moving.

She slowly took a step inside, the air changing as soon as she passed through the door. The lighting was dim, but it was still easy to see. There were seats with people drinking and eating pizza.

"Welcome, sugar! What brings a lady such as yourself here? Lookin' for someone to cuddle?" the accented voice was friendly. The woman behind the bar was leaned over on her elbow, back arched, waiting for an answer. It was hard not to stare at her breasts that were basically spilling from her top. "Moxxi," Jay smiled to herself as the woman became a face she's seen. She finally knew why the name rang a bell. "You're on the pizza box I saw." Jay cringed, realizing that wasn't exactly the way to greet someone. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't worry, sug, I _love_ the recognition, trust me. Now, can I get you a drink?" she pushed herself up, grabbing a glass.

"Oh, no, thank you. I'm actually here to drop something off for, doctor..Zed?" Moxxi's eyes lit up immediately as Jay placed it near a silly jar that caught her attention. The sign pointing in was a large pair of lips with "insert your tip" painted on it. The arrow pointing inside seemed interesting.

"I've been waiting for this," Moxxi grabbed it with a smile. "I don't like to be disrespected by men." She placed the box under the counter with a pout.

"Let me give you a drink on the house, beautiful," Moxxi mixed up a drink with a few different bottles, achieving a pink liquid that seemed to glow. "I insist."

Krieg was on her mind, though. Where could he have gone? Zed said he wouldn't leave her side, but he is nowhere to be found.

She decided to sit down for the drink. "You didn't happen to see a man with a mask," she gestured her hand over her face, "big, he may have yelled inappropriate things. He has a sharp axe-type weapon..?"

"Mmm, yes. How could I miss a man like that walking into my bar? With a body like that, mmm, the things I'd do to him." Jay's brows perked up. Moxxi wasn't afraid to show her feelings, that's for sure. "Yeah, I saw him. He wouldn't stop babbling about another woman, I guess that's you? Nice catch, darling."

"What? N-no, we're, no, not together, like _that_ ," Jay scrambled her words at the idea, her cheeks burning bright red.

"No? But you want to, I see," she smirked, wiping the counter space with a wet rag.

"No, no. I- no." Jay took a sip of the pink drink, her heart beating a little faster.

"It's ok to have feelings, sugar. It's only natural," she laughed seductively.

"It's not that, it's just. Well...I don't think he's capable of..being involved. With feelings, or, or, anything else really," she took another sip, this time a bigger gulp.

"Honey, if you can breathe, you're capable of feelings."

That small statement moved mountains for Jay. She thought about it, looking into her drink. She bit her lip and finished off the drink. Even if he was capable, she didn't like him like that..right? She wasn't ready for anything like that. She could barely accept herself, let alone another person.

* * *

 **I'm sorry it's been so long. I've had a few personal things going on this year that really made focusing on this difficult. I will warn that I may update slowly, but I'm not giving up on the story.** **Hope you're still interested! Let me know.**


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